There are lots of arguments for legalizing marijuana. Like, um, for instance, this one: [Cannabis prohibition] unnecessarily proscribe[s] consumption of a 'herb bearing seed' given to humanity in Genesis 1:29, thereby violating their unqualified religious rights under Article 1, Section 3 and their Natural Rights under Article 1, Section 33 of the Oregon Constitution." That's from the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, otherwise known as Measure 80 on this November's ballot in the Beaver State. The marijuana legalization movement has long drawn from a loose coalition between libertarians and ... Read More
Male Circumcision Ban Makes Cut for November Ballot
May 19, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
As suggested by our Beryl Lieff Benderly in the March/April edition of Miller-McCune magazine, "intactivists" — advocates working to make male circumcision illegal — have succeeded in getting a public vote on banning the procedure on San Francisco’s November ballot. The plebiscite was penned by a San Diego-based nonprofit, MGMbill.org, and makes “genital cutting” of male minors a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $1,000 or a year in jail. Given that circumcision is required by both Jewish and Islamic traditions, the ordinance does not make an exception for “custom or ... Read More
Ballot Initiatives: Making The Grade?
February 27, 2010 • By • 2 Comments
If corporations can cut out the middleman, why not citizens? That appears to be the logic behind grassroots organizations on the left and the right who have championed the use of citizen-led ballot initiatives to break legislative stalemates and enact much needed social or fiscal reform. The ballot initiative system, which causes near constant controversy in the 24 states that allow it, gives average voters the ability to write and implement statewide legislation — and in some cases directly override elected officials. Backers have championed this system as way to check bloated or ... Read More
Can California Redistricting Reform Change Congress?
February 19, 2010 • By • 3 Comments
If I taught journalism, the final project would have students write an article about municipal bonds. The assignment would be a reality check: As a profession, journalism is so difficult nowadays that only those young people who have the drive and style needed to accurately enliven the second-most boring subject in the news universe — municipal finance — have any chance of a significant career. If you can make bond covenants sing, you might earn a journalistic living in an age when people dislike paying for news, and countless millions of blockheads write for no money. But even I have ... Read More
Showing Initiative (the Door)
January 26, 2010 • By • 1 Comment
At the beginning of the 20th century, American progressives pushed the idea of ballot initiatives as a cure for some of the ills of representative government. In a political system still run by patronage, proponents argued that direct democracy would hold elected officials accountable to the public and foster a more informed and active populace. Over the years, political scientists largely supported these assertions, crediting ballot initiatives and referenda for generating higher turnout and better-educated voters. Nearly half the states in the nation allow citizens to place initiatives on ... Read More
